ABSTRACT: One hundred leprosy cases of different types have been studied for detection of rheumatoid factor, ASO antibodies and C-RP compared to 50 normal individuals in the same age range residing in the same locality. The test cases consisted of tuberculoid type-50, indeterminate type-15, border line tuberculoid-20, borderline lepromatous -6 and lepromatous types-9 only. Sex distribution was male-75 and female-25. Age range varied from 15 to 45 yrs. Incidence of positivity for rheumatoid factor, ASO antibody and C-reactive protein was 11 percent 4 percent and 5 percent respectively in leprosy whereas the control standard individuals showed presence of rheumatoid factor and C-RP lepromatous only in 2 percent each. Of different forms of leprosy, cases showed the highest incidence as 33 percent, 11 percent and 44 percent respectively of rheumatoid factor, ASO antibody and C-RP.

ABSTRACT: Diagnosis of cysticercosis was established in 27 cases based on clinical evaluation and histopathological examination of skin biopsy. cutaneous cysts were present in all the 27 cases. seizure in 23, raised intracranial tension in 9 and meningoencephalitis in 2. CT scan was suggestive of intracranial cysticercosis in 25 cases. Praziquantel was administered in a dose of 50 mg/kg body wt/day for 15 days alongwith steroids in 22 cases. Follow up which ranged between 3 months to 2 years revealed complete response in 4 patients within a period of six months and partial response in 8 patients. Severe side effects were recorded in 9, moderate in 5 and mild in 4. No side effects were recorded in 4 patients. 5 patients were treated with albendazole 400 mg twice daily for 7 days when cutaneous integument alone was involved in 2 patients; and remaining 3 for 30 days when central nervous system was involved alongwith. There was partial response in all the 5 patients. Side effects recorded were moderate. The use of drugs offers pharmacological treatment of cysticercosis with reasonably high rate of success.

ABSTRACT: Patients coming with presenting symptom of false and intractable idea of infestation of skin by tiny insects were pooled from dermatology and psychiatry clinics of a teaching hospital for eight (8 yrs) years. 26 such patients identified consisting of 0.05 percent of total patients seen. Dermatologists could not find any organic basis for the complaint but found various types of self induced skin lesions in these patients. Psychiatric examination revealed 7 different types of psychiatric illness in these 26 patients. In one group of 12 coming mainly from dermatology clinic, the delusion seemed to be the central problem. This group showed many similarities among themselves in clinical history, response to drugs, long term foflow up etc. They were grouped under heading of 'delusional (paranoid) disorder, somatic type'(using current American Psychiatric Association criteria DSM-III-R 1987). Rest of the cases coming from dermatology clinic were elderly depressives. Careful psychiatric history only could differentiate them from the delusional disorder group. Patients coming directly to Psychiatry clinic were of more varied aetiology. Patients responded to treatment given according to psychiatric diagnosis. Delusional disorder group did not respond to phenothiazine but responded partly to tricyclic anti depressants and responded well to pimozide.

ABSTRACT: A case of epidermal nevus syndrome with several cutaneous manifestations other than nevus unius lateralis such as large area of cafe'-au lait discolouration studded with nevocellular nevi, cavernous haemangiomas with overlying hypertrichosis, slight neurological deficit in contralateral extremities and dense osteosclerosis of several adjacent bones of unilateral distribution is reported.